The U.S. women's jury movements and strategic adaptation
Subtitle: a more just verdict
By: Holly J. McCammon
Series: Cambridge studies in contentious politics
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Cambridge; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 298
ISBN-13: 9781107009929
Subjects: Women jurors; Law; Jury; Women; Legal status, laws; Political aspects; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Government / General; History
Other titles: US women's jury movements and strategic adaptation
Description: "When women won the vote in the United States in 1920 they were still routinely barred from serving as jurors, but some began vigorous campaigns for a place in the jury box. This book tells the story of how women mobilized in fifteen states to change jury laws so that women could gain this additional right of citizenship. Some campaigns quickly succeeded; others took substantially longer. The book reveals that when women strategically adapted their tactics to the broader political environment, they were able to speed up the pace of jury reform, while less strategic movements took longer. A comparison of the more strategic women's jury movements with those that were less strategic shows that the former built coalitions with other women's groups, took advantage of political opportunities, had past experience in seeking legal reforms and confronted tensions and even conflict within their ranks in ways that bolstered their action"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction: the women's jury movements and strategic adaptation; 2. Theorizing social movement strategic adaptation; 3. Broadening women's citizenship: a history of US women's rights; 4. Responding to political defeats; 5. Countering public opposition and indifference; 6. Taking advantage of discursive and cultural opportunities; 7. Turning the movement around; 8. Comparing the movements: qualitative comparative analysis; 9. Final thoughts on strategic adaptation and social movement strategy.